Amish Friendship Muffins with Maple Glaze .... Lets Be Friends.... K?

Did you all notice that I was MIA last week? There was reason behind that...

2-3 weeks ago I stumbled upon a facebook page that was quite large using content from my blog as well as my friends blogs without permission. Simple copyright infringement. I voiced my opinion loudly on my Bakeaholic Mama facebook page... 100's of comments most of which supported me and agreed that just because it is published on the internet does not mean it's free for the taking. You can make the recipes, share the links but you can not copy and paste my photography or my words.

Then there was a large group of my followers that were outraged because of one sentence in my rant...

"I am not a bored stay at home mom twiddling her thumbs...."

Mom's were outraged. I got about 10 private messages telling me how ashamed I should be for insinuating stay at home mom's are lazy... comment after comment saying the same thing. Then there were a couple of people who went off. Bat shit crazy style. I was told to stick a spoon in my ass. I was told that I was selfish, that I was a poor excuse for a mom... yada yada yada.... 2 days that lasted. I blocked all of the really nasty comments... especially the ones involving spoons...

It was ridiculous. People attacked me because I said I am not a bored stay at home mom. That's right people I AM NOT A BORED STAY AT HOME MOM. I am a busy STAY AT HOME MOM..... stay at home moms do not have it easy, I was simply saying I am not that stereotype. I work hard at home with my kids, keeping my house (sorta clean) , and working on my blog tyring to build a business.

People are so quick to react before fully reading. They get brave behind their computer screens and forget that I to am a human being with feelings. There is a person behind this blog. A dedicated stay at home mom who just wants to bake you all some damn cookies!

Fast forward a few days... I stumble upon ANOTHER large facebook page with 70-80k fans who is copy and pasting words from blogs, taking photographs and sharing them to gain more fans... and not crediting the sources. So what do I do? I private messaged the page owner.

She did in fact remove her page from facebook.... for a whopping 6-8 hours. She then came back. LUCKY ME... she shared the following post below providing her 70ish THOUSAND fans with my personal facebook page... which of course lists my employer as Bakeaholic Mama and the state/town I live in, had a picture of my kids, names of the schools I've attended, my husbands name.... thousands of people had this info at their disposal. This women runs such a large page and she chose to use it for hate.

Apparently what I thought was a nice enough message trying to explain
something was considered to be UGLY?? What was ugly is what happened
next.

"Her whole page (profile picture) explains her frame of mind...." This is because that particular day I like thousands of others had an equality symbol showing that we support equal marriage rights.

Hope you all don't find the mustaches distracting.... I wanted to protect the identity of the Facebook users involved private. Covering it up in man hair seemed like a good idea at the time.

What bothers me the most out of all of this... I truly believe a good chunk of the hate mail I received in just a couple of days was because of my profile picture. I proudly shared the red equality symbol to support my friends and family members who want to have the same rights as straight married couples. How disgusting is that?

Those were just the comments on HER page (over 200...) my fan page filled up with comments on every photo going back for 3 weeks saying "is this really YOUR recipe?" "You stole this recipe from my mom." " THIS IS MINE I MADE THAT LAST YEAR. HOW DARE YOU!" ... all bold face lies. Just trolls out trying to fudge up my page and make me lose followers. I had to monitor my fan page for a full 24 hours deleting these comments constantly.

To top it all off my inbox filled up with threats, and remarks like "May god help you. Jealousy is a sin." "I hope your kids don't turn out like you." "leave Kim alone! We LOVE KIM!!!!!!!" "I bet you don't make any of the things on your webpage" "homo lover" "leave Kimmy the hell alone"

And my all time favorite....

"Watch your fucking back slut"

Watch my back? Ok that's kinda scary right? What do I do? Is this person serious? And wait... how am I a slut? Really? I'm a slut... married to my high school sweetheart with 3 kids. A stay a home mom who bakes cookies and brownies in her free time.... is a slut?

What is wrong with people?

I hear about cyber-bullying on the news or from friends who have older kids. It's an epidemic among middle and high school kids. The internet gives people fake muscles. They use their words in the most hateful and hurtful ways. It truly disturbs me to know that these kids learn this behavior from someone. Apparently adults behave this way as well.

Want to know how it made me feel? I cried. I cried a LOT. I normally have thick skin but when you have spent days getting harassed by these people it wares on you. I had to stay away from my blog for a while until they all went away.

I am not alone in this form of harassment. A blogging friend had a page owner's husband threaten to take a hit out on us.... "contact his associates" to deal with her for messing with his wife's page. One person was called a Cunt, and a Twat.

My husband gave me a little pep talk after the worst of it was over. If I want to continue to share my work on the internet, and attempt to attract thousands of strangers into my life. I need to get used to this kind of backlash. People will always twist words, and type before they think.

He's right. This happens all too often and I can't cry every time someone is mean to me.

If you are bullied online there are things you can do. First though you need to determine if it's a credible threat or a just an internet troll. The fact is the majority of these people are sad lonely people with nothing better to do. They are targeting you because they are jealous of your success, they are jealous of your creativity. When to tell if it's a credible threat? This is tricky... I say go with your gut. In my case I thought on it a bit before making a decision if I should report the harassment to my local police department. I decided they were just internet trolls. People sent to ruin my day....

If your gut says something is wrong with a comment, email, facebook post, tweets.... contact your local authorities for help. Or you can check out this page for more info.

Bullying in any form should NOT be tolerated. In order to fix the problem, we as adults and parents need to re evaluate our online behavior and make it known to our kids that is not ok..... EVER. For some great info on how to handle these types of situations.

Amish friendship bread is a very popular recipe for a sweet bread that made using a "starter" it takes a couple of weeks or some say months to create the perfect starter. Once you have it... it grows and you can share the starter with your friends so everyone can enjoy the sweetness of Amish Friendship Bread.

Most recipes are made with boxed pudding mix. I somehow can not picture the Amish using a boxed mix so I did some recipe digging and found the recipe linked below, that does no include pudding!

Instead of baking it into bread loaves, I divided the batter into muffin cups and baked at 350 for 20 minutes. I topped half of my muffins with a maple glaze and the other half with maple sugar.To make the maple glaze: 1 tbs maple syrup whisked together with 1/4 cup powdered sugar. Drizzle over the tops of your cooled muffins.

I think these internet bullies could use some friendship muffins to brighten their day don't you think?

I am part of a fun group called the Leftovers Club. It's a group of bloggers who share a recipe on their blog and then ship the leftover goodies to a friend. To checkout what my friends made click the links below.

128 comments

I can't believe how stupid people are. There's no nicer way to describe these people. I hope the trolls (trolls sounds too positive for those people but I'm trying to not get too negative) disappear soon. I'm so sorry you had to deal with this and know that all the food bloggers are here to support you and anybody else being bullied!

And the muffins look great, too! I love that you found a way around using a box mix. I agree with you... I just don't see the Amish chowing down on box mix foods. :)

Reading through those comments I almost cried!! I knew you were being bullied and receiving the brunt of the Facebook negativity but I had no idea it was that bad. And tangling all the marriage equality stuff up with it? What the what. This sums it up all perfectly and thank you for writing it (I knew some were planning to address this issue today but I didn't know how to make that work with my Leftovers Club post!! You worked it out like a pro). Love these muffins!! Thanks, Carrie :)

I am so sorry you have had to witness and endure sure evil Carrie. It makes me physically ill every time I think about it. Love your take on it... the friendship muffins... and love those cute little mustaches. :)

Hi Carrie. I'm so sorry you've had to deal with this. It's so sad the Internet can be used in such a negative way. Just know your blog and recipes have brightened many people's days. There will be mean people out there, but never let it get in the way of what you love.

Also, these muffins look great. I've only had Amish Friendship Bread loaf style. It would be fun to try them in muffin form.

Ugh that is so ridiculous. I hope you don't read too much into the political side of it, because many of your fans like me believe in traditional marriage, but don't engage in cyber bullying or copyright infringement or anything else intentionally mean or unethical!

Thanks! I know everyone has their own beliefs and I respect them. It's just those who say things like "homo lover" that make me sick. I wouldn't stick a label on anyone who is conservative because of a few jerks.

I hope you're feeling better Carrie. I can't believe how absurd these situations are sometimes, and I'm just amazed by how rude and horrible people can be. You know you've always got a group of people supporting you!

So sorry to hear about your trials on Facebook - I seem to read more and more stories about this kind of bullying by the very people who are using and "sharing" content they did not create. It's ridiculous the lengths people will go to defend inappropriate behavior - especially when they've got a mob of followers to support them. Thanks for standing up for bloggers (and same-sex marriage) everywhere and don't let the haters get you down. You're awesome and no one can take that away...

I want you to know, after reading the post back about "What every facebook user needs to know" I've been more cautious with the pages I like, and what I share. I've even alerted some of my friends to what they are sharing, and done the work to find the original recipe for them. I'm sorry you've had such a negative and down right mean response from someone. How dare they steal your hard work and then say you're the jealous one! I'd like to give them a piece of my mind.Thank you for coming back, and putting a positive spin with the friendship muffins.

Ok, I had to try and find the page of the person who was doing this to you, because that's just how I am...does she even have an original thought? I did not see a single thing that she posted that was hers, it looks like she spends all her time linking from Pinterest. What a shame you had to deal with that nightmare. I saw your original post that got people all up in arms, and all I can think is that those who took offense are actually bored housewives that stay at home and twiddle their thumbs and your comment just hit too close to home. It really is sad what's going in the world today.

I thought for sure I covered up her page name with enough mustaches haha!I have to say this.... A member of a blogging group I belong to contacted her after this event and got through to her. She has since changed the way she shares content and stopped copy/pasting from websites. Still doesn't undo the damage she did when she posted my personal facebook profile for her fans to attack me. I don't know why people think this is ok...

Her name is in the second facebook photo you posted. I'm sorry you had to get all that abuse. I also went to look at her page and wondered what you were talking about as she seems to now just link to other sides, but from what you say I assume she was just copying and pasting the recipes before which is awful!

I am going to black out her name when I get home later. The last thing I want is for anything to blow up on her. Another blogger contacted her and explained the legal way to share. She has since fixed things and only posts links. Though 1 week ago she was taking the photos and recipes and copy and pasting word for word. I am pleased that she is now sharing correctly, however that does not undo what she has already done.

It still makes me sick that you took so much of the brunt of this crap. It's amazing how easy it is for people to act like jerks when they're hidden behind a computer screen. :( The muffins look great though! Can't wait to try them... I'll have your "leftovers" out to you this weekend. I unfortunately wasn't able to get anything done for today.

OMG Carrie. I cannot believe people were so disgusting and vile and mean. I just can't even wrap my head around it. I am SO sorry you've had to go through this. Please know that we are 100% behind you and we love you AND your food and you are awesome. (And, um, I really could have used the leftover muffins, lol.) ((Hugs))

Take a minute to breathe. That was awful. I'm glad that you are back...I love to read (and drool) and occasionally pin your recipes. Is pinning ok? I've always assumed it is when the pin points back to the original source, but I know there has been some discusison/confusion about this since pinterest has become so big... I look so forward to your posts and recipes.

I've posted a few times on your FB page. I just started following your page when the "drama" broke out. I was amazed how ridiculous people are, and it really does make me weep for humanity. I just wanted you to know despite the "drama", I'm still following, because it was obvious to me that the trolls were out to get you. Good luck to you, and I hope this all blows over!

I'm so sorry that you had to bear the brunt of the harassment, Carrie. I'm continually awed by how defensive/mean people can get when they lash out before really thinking it through. I'm glad this particular page owner has realized her legal error in posting full recipes without proper attribution. I don't think an apology would be too much to ask.

Carrie, I am so sorry you had to go through that!! What a horrific ordeal! I am in shock that people would be that cruel to someone especially someone that they don't know. I just want you to know I think you and your blog are both awesome!!!! I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself and not allowing those bullies to keep you down!!:)

Wow! I've had one really bad email and I was torn up for days! My heart breaks for you and what you just had to go through and what you are still dealing with. People don't understand unless you are a blogger or photographer. Check out this article! http://www.cookistry.com/2013/03/can-we-talk-about-sharing.html?m=1

Carrie, I actually cried reading this. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Those people should be ashamed of themselves. I've been reading your blog and making your delicious recipes for my family for a few years now. This stay at home momma supports you 110%!! I wish I could send you some of my fudgy snicker brownies to cheer you up :) Baked goods really make the world a better place.

Carrie, I was livid the entire time I was reading those facebook posts. What in the hell is wrong with people?! Like I've been saying all along, the internet gives people this false sense of bravado. They think they can say and do anything without consequence and they revel in the opportunity to spread their hate and misery. It's disgusting. But you, dear lady, have taken the high road the entire time. You've acted with so much class, professionalism and courage - more than these trolls deserve but you stayed true to yourself. I'm so sorry you've been a victim of such vitriolic bullying but it's heartening to know that you have a loving, strong family to support you as well as the support of the blogging community. I'm sending you virtual hugs and can't wait to give you a real one when we meet in September! Keep your head up, Carrie - you rock!

Oh my goodness I can't believe that grown adults think its ok to behave like that. I am so sorry you had to deal with that mess. I am new to blogging and its so sad to hear that this happens! I do have to say a big THANK YOU for your equality sign profile picture. I am sorry people used that against you but your support to those fighting for equality means the world!

I can't believe those women were so vicious when you were simply defending the things that are yours. I will never understand why people are so cruel. I am so sorry that happened but always remember you always have all of us and we have your back when you need someone to talk to or to put Nair in their shampoos (kidding!). I understand people wanting to share your recipes. They are all awesome. I told you I have made your Cadbury Egg Blondie Bars two years in a row now because they are phenomenal. However, every time I show people pictures or give them the recipe, whether it's online or in person, I always give you credit. You're the genius behind them, not me. Also, I want to make sure people know they should check out your site for more information (and let's face it, better pictures than I can ever take). Do not let those women drag you down. You are awesome.

I have been a terrible commenter lately, but I just had to comment here today to support you! I cannot believe how crazy and mean people get! It's scary. I'm sorry you had to deal with that...hopefully it's all blown over now.On a happy note, these muffins rock! I love that you didn't use any pudding mix :) yummy!

OH MY GOODNESS! I can't believe this happened to you. I am so sad in your place. Don't even let them get to you, I know for us women that's hard to do because we are one big ball of emotions waiting to explode but seriously, they are not worth your time. People love to get big behind a computer screen. You stay confident in yourself, and in what you do, and everyone else can kick rocks. Hope you're feeling better! And that leftovers club sounds like something I'd love to sign up for! :) <3

First - your muffins look awesome. Secondly, people are ridiculous. I just got told last night on Twitter how gross and disgusting I am for butchering meat for my family. Really? So not quite the same but you were in the right and some people just don't like to find out they are wrong!! Keep baking, keep loving, and being awesome!

Thanks Amanda! I can't believe people say the things they do online. What did you say back to the person on Twitter? I say rock on... love that you butcher your own meat. So much better than buying the hormone pumped plastic wrapped steaks at the market!

What is ironic is the majority of these nasty commenters ARE bored stay at home moms that hide behind their computers and would never have the same size balls in real life. So sorry you got such a brunt of all this.People truly are stupid and ignorant and really have no clue about how blogging works and seriously how insane that they all read so deep into us bloggers just wanted to be given credit for our work. Yes we are jealous that someone stole our work. Um. No. we just want a link back to our blog. So so sorry you went through all this. No one deserves to be treated this way

Now onto these muffins. They look SO GOOD!I remember my mom making Amish Friendship bread when I was a kid and thinking " WOW the Amish sure know how to bake" ha ha ha

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. It made my skin crawl when it was happening and I don't blame you one single bit for crying and withdrawing for the week. For some reason, the internet seems to gives a lot of people the audacity to say things over the computer that they would never say to someone in person. Or maybe they would...which is even scarier. They forget that bloggers are humans, with real feelings. You're a trooper!

I just don't understand why some people are so hate-filled. What on earth is wrong with them??? Please try not to let those awful emails and despicable people get to you. (Easier said than done, I know.) Keep doing what you're doing----I'm always thrilled to see what new recipes you have posted and what new things I can try in my kitchen. I just wish I didn't have to always watch my calories!!

First, oh my gosh those muffins look perfect. I want a dozen now. And more tomorrow with my coffee. Second, when I talked on my blog about the worst of the true "bullying" that I don't often face (having decorating how-tos, not full recipes), this kind of insanity is what I was talking about. Unbelievable!! I'm so glad you posted this all here and gave yourself back your voice to those that understand and listen!!!

Thanks! I love Amish friendship bread so much! It is nuts the way people behave on the Internet. I wanted to clap when I read your blog post yesterday. You really did such a great job, thank you so much for your efforts.

:( That stinks. I am aware of some of what went on, and have been shocked at how dumb some people are. Frankly. Alas. But the muffins look awesome. Like the song says, Don't let the bastards get you down!

Oh wow it is TERRIBLE that you had to endure all that! It never ceases to amaze me both how kind and also how volatile readers can be. I so rarely take anything to heart like that, but so many people really do!

What this world needs is more friendship muffins. That's for damn sure.

Whoaaaaa! Carrie, I just loved the look of your muffins but when I saw this post...I am floored. And I am now fully of the opinion that we should NEVER confront these people directly, but instead go to Facebook and report a violation (ask other bloggers to do it too and it usually gets taken down immediately!). It's sick, the way people get so nuts on the internet and hide behind it to bully and disparage others. After my little run in with someone who said they would "take me down", I've decided that just going the official route and reporting violations is the way to go.Hugs, honey pie!

Oh Carrie my heart aches for you, I think I would have cried too! These pages just keep popping up everywhere and it's so overwhelming to follow them all. You do a great job here on your blog and just keep that in mind and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise. <3

Oh my gosh this is disgraceful! I know this goes on, but I'm shocked at the extent of it and to see it with my own eyes. To be honest, I'm not surprised it made you cry, I would have cried too, but you are so much better than all of them, when someone takes your recipes and photos, they are stealing. FACT. There is no other word, they're just trying to justify the fact they are thieves! Yes we share recipes and people make them and change them, but you should always cite the source, that's just the done thing and it makes me so cross when I see pages like this cropping up everywhere! Especially the pictures, how can that not be theft, they didn't spend ages setting up, photographing and then editing the photos, they only clicked "copy" and "paste". Disgusting. I bet half of those people wouldn't have the balls to say anything to your face down the street though, they just hide behind facebook! I'm 100% behind you and all the other, decent, hard working bloggers out there. I know it's hard, but don't let it get you down, just remind yourself that you haven't done anything wrong and you're miles better than those hateful idiots. And please keep sharing your recipes 'cos I and so many other people love them!! :D

Oh, Carrie! I'm so sorry you had to go through this. People can be so cruel! I saw the thread on your page--but I had no idea what a shitstorm was brewing on other pages (I mean, seeing the thread I should have assumed there'd be some sort of troll gathering elsewhere and facebook seems to be a petri dish for immaturity). You are certainly a strong person for dealing with this whole situation with more grace than I could ever hope to muster. Thank you for all the hard work you put into your recipes, photography, site & all that you do--it's definitely appreciated. xo

This hurts my heart. I can't believe people treated you that way for sticking up for yourself when you were being victimized. I'm still working on a post, but I'm finding the right words hard to come by!

Oh! My! Gosh! I am completely shocked. I approached a page owner basically stating the same thing you did. She put up a pretty sad victim post on her facebook then started emailing me threats and vicious things. She told me her 80K followers could destroy my blog. What can we do?

Janet, the first bit of advice. Don't contact the page owners just report them to facebook for taking your intellectual property rights. Facebook will investigate the claim and in most cases have the photo/content removed. If you find that a facebook user is harassing you as this women did you can also report the page for harassment. I'm going to send you an email with a link to PIPO it's a Google+ group of food bloggers that are working together to protect our intellectual property rights.

Sorry for all your troubles. Yikes, that particular page owner must be a legend in her own mind. It is unfortunate that there are those types of people out there. This person is obviously very jealous of your successful blog, please don't let her damage your self esteem!I think you do a fabulous job with your site, and I appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

Holy crap. Carrie, I am so sorry you had to go through this! I think people are just so ignorant and they think they can just use our stuff but they have no idea how much effort and time we put into our work! It's the worst. Ugh. I love your site and I have your back :)

I am so sorry you went through all that, Carrie. What you did, however, was speak up for every blogger, which is so appreciated! I've already started to see a rebellion against some of the pages stealing our content. In addition to the wonderful "Fabulous Food Blog Recipes" fan page, that you are part of, I've seen other similar pages state now that they link only to the bloggers websites. Have a great weekend...and thank you!!! PS: Love the friendship muffins!

Oh , goodness, Bakeaholic Mama! Just keep doing what you love. Is it cooking, then cook! Are you looking for reassurance, wrong place. As your husband said, these people are strangers! Please move on. Cooking is lighthearted, a way to escape into a world of "taste" smells...warmth...another time...another country...another kitchen...another grain of salt. And that is what all of this is. Take this with a grain of salt, and stop worrying about it. You have heard the expression " living rent free in my mind" You are letting that happen. Cook, be happy and don't think about this anymore. It's Ok Mama, we all have bad days. You just had a bad day. In a line of many, many days. I always think...hmmmm will I think about this when I know it's my last hours? If the answer is No I never give it another thought . <3

I'm here because your friend that I am in a Tribe with had cookies called Can't-We-All-Just-Get-Along cookies. They were amazing but the story she included gave me that sick feeling I always get when someone reminds me of my experience with a crazy FB page called Gypsy Melting Pot, a blogger I thought should know I may have seen her photos, and the subsequent harassment and threats that followed. Luckily, my son is an attorney so, while I took my FB site down for a while - there was also (as in your published threads from Kims Krazyness, hate speech - felony. And whomever told you to watch your back - threats. Both done on the Internet - another felony. Tell them calmly. You do not need an attorney to report a felony. They don't want the FBI in their business. They will stop. But, for the photo and recipe, it' a little more difficult.

Some of those messages are HORRIBLE! I can't believe people are so willing to say such nasty things (at all, let alone when they clearly don't even understand what you were saying!). I really hope it's all stopped now, please keep blogging! :)

It's incredible. You go through middle school getting teased for being the smart, nerdy girl (was that just me?), and think, "Things will be better when I'm grown up." Then you grow up and realize how few people actually grew out of that middle school "mean girl" stage.

I am so, so sorry this happened to you. I am appalled by peoples' actions, and how they can twist innocent words and turn the situation into something so mean and ugly. I am so blessed by all of the incredible friends I have made through blogging and am blessed to have not (yet) personally encountered such bullying - but that doesn't mean I am immune or that it won't happen. I encourage you to look at all of the encouraging comments left here and to reflect on the amazing friendships I'm sure you have made with other bloggers - people you probably wouldn't know if it weren't for blogging! I know it is so, so hard sometimes, but lean on these friends. They'll stick up for you in the end.

Unreal. Every time I see a friend sharing a recipe from one of those pages, it hurts my heart, because I know it originated from a food blogger who spent so much time and energy testing the recipe, and getting the pictures 'just right'. So I continue to report their pages, and wish they would have respect...

My sister (Very Culinary), sent this article to me when I found a recipe on a Pampered Chef FB post (a friend's "share"). She did site the blog it came from, but she also put the entire recipe on her page. I deleted my "share" on FB after talking to my sister.

I just want to cry for you! These comments are terrible, beyond terrible. How can people not know they are stealing?! Seriously? And all of these people who turned into (or maybe already were) terrible bullies.... Though I don't know you, I feel for you. Hang in there. There are many more of us out here who know and trust bloggers like you, know that you are genuine, and that you are a much bigger, better person than these ignorant bullies!

First I love Amy she is such a sweetie. So glad you are on top of what's what, so many people who do not publish content online have no clue how or why it it hurtful to those who do when they copy/paste the content. Anyways... thanks so much for the sweet comment!

I'm a little late here, but I wanted to let you know that you've got my support. Nothing makes fire shoot from my ears more than bullying. I can't (well, honestly, can) believe people would treat another person so cruelly. It's disgusting. Way to stand up; I admire your courage!

I have enjoyed following you, and I think you're a creative genius in the kitchen and a brilliant photographer. AND these muffins...I'm going to need one ASAP!

Hi Carrie! I had no idea the bullying got so bad...I'm so sorry you have been going thru this. I've seen a lot of this going on with several large FB pages, and their crazy bullying 'friends' attacking bloggers. I cannot understand what is going on...after watching some of these bullying conversations going on, I too shut down for quite a few days. FB and blogging felt so ugly and negative to me. But I came back. Because I love blogging...I love good bloggers (like you) and great readers (of which there are many). I'll gladly take my 3000 FB followers over 100 000 crazy ones. I love your blog. Your voice. And what you stand for.Jo-Anna

Not only am I upset that you've been dealing with this, I'm absolutely outraged that Facebook isn't doing enough to deal with this. These pages should be shut down - if not for the blatant copyright infringements then for this harassment. Together, it should be a no-brainer for them. I find this so upsetting!I am so sorry that you and several other bloggers have had to deal with this incredible hate and harassment, all over asking people to not steal your work and claim it as their own!

Oh my goodness, I've only just come across your blog, and after reading this, just want to give you a great big hug. It's like high school, but a gazillion times worse. People get fierce behind their screens for sure. Love the faces and 'man hair' though. You did the right thing by keeping them private. And if those internet bullies don't want some friendship muffins, we'll share them with you! :)

Wow. Just wow. I'm so sorry. You were right to defend your work. We have to educate people about what is okay and what is not on the internet. Sometimes, that gets messy. I had somebody take the cover of my cookbook and an article I had written around it and post it in full on his site. When I asked him privately to remove it, he asked me to prove it was mine first. Ha! There are some seriously ignorant people out there and they all think they know the law. Keep your chin up girl. You've got a good thing going here.

I read & follow www.mywomenstuff.com and she posted this link on Twitter. I don't know what to say, I am in shock really. Just for the record, people don't have to agree what you say or like it even, but there are certain boundaries that should not be passed. I think most of these woman don't even realise that what they were posting is for ever and ever on the internet with names and pictures. And the spoon thing, people what would your children, colleagues and family say when they read what you posted. The most worrying thing is that just the average joe & jane apparently think this is 'normal' and civil behaviour. Threatening somebody in the comments of their blog... for what ever reason is not a good thing. The best thing to do is block these people and go on writing your stuff on you blog.

Carrie, I saw your post on FB when you said you were MIA but I am just now seeing this post on the all the garbage you went through. So crazy, people are so out of control these days. Technology has made it so easy to jump on the bandwagon without knowing the facts. I feel so bad that you had such horrible comments and hate mail, how terrible and unsettling to open your mail and see these comments. Keep your head up, and keep on baking fabulous goodies for us. Remember what doesn't kill us makes us stronger :) PS. Classy to make friendship muffins!

I am brand new to your blog and I love it. I actually couldn't finish this blog as I wanted to poke sharp objects under my fingernails to make the pain stop. Are people really and truly so angry that they will threaten another person they don't know? Wow. Just Wow. People take themselves way too seriously and need to get over themselves. Peace to you sister!

I feel so bad for you....I see this behavior "trolls" in animal rescue and I realize people get very emotional about animal welfare but I never thought I would see it with regards to cooking. That ISN'T to say people aren't passionate about cooking it's just a different ball game. No one has the right to threaten you and tell you to watch your back. It is obvious the mentality of some of these people and I'm hoping, for your sake and ours, they move along quickly. It all boils down to laziness. I'm sure if she contacted you and asked how she could share your recipes appropriately you would have worked with her or explained why you preferred she didn't which is your right as owner of the photography and words attached. Anyways, sadly social media has given many people, as I like to call it, "big cojones" because they can hide behind the keyboard. I wish some people wouldn't jump on a bandwagon and instead do their own research and think how they would feel if they put time and money into their work only to have someone take it and claim it. Anyways, I won't be heading to her page. I checked to make sure I wasn't already a follower already. I'm just sorry you had to go through that. And as someone else said, "touche on the friendship muffin" recipe. Stay strong but it sounds like you have that down already :)

I'm sorry you were treated so badly and unfairly. Every village needs an idiot and it seems that they like to congregate on her site. I do believe, however, that what she has been doing is a direct violation of FBs own guidelines and Id definitely report her. They will also be interested in the vulgarity and bullying from her followers.

As for the one who told you to watch your back, you SHOULD report them to the police. FB will give them the name and address and they could get a visit that might teach them that they aren't as anonymous as they think they are and they can't threaten people without consequences. Just sayin'.

Please know that you have your own people who like you and appreciate your recipes and try to ignore the a-holes. Let them choke on their own venom. And each time she copies your recipes, turn her in to FB. Don't contact her any more. Have a lawyer friend? Maybe a cease and desist letter might make her think twice.

I am so sorry to read what you have gone through. Nobody deserves to be treated that way.

I too have found stolen images and recipes of mine on Facebook pages. So far everyone that I have contacted has either been kind and taken down the image or has ignored me. Your story has me worried if I should contact the person next time or just deal with it directly with Facebook.

FYI: Facebook is really really good at dealing with copyright issues. You can fill out a form and they will take only a few days to deal with it and remove the images. My hunch is that if a page gets enough copyright infringement notices that they will shut down the page.

I've done this before and it's anonymous (the page owner doesn't know who sent in the infringement notice) and it works well.

Here's a link to the form to report a copyright infringement on Facebook:

Hi Kristen, Thank you for your words. This post was written a while back. I've been around the block and back when it comes to reporting things to Facebook. Yes most times facebook does remove it however, when you submit a report to them they then contact the offender and release your name to them. So yeah... that form is easy, but personally I do not want my full name released to anyone. I don't trust people on the internet, some of these page owners are crazy. It is not worth reporting. For every one post that gets taken down 4 more pop up somewhere else.

Also, you can report a thread of a post and it will be removed if you click the arrow in the top right hand corner of the post box. Just something to keep in mind in case something like this happens to you again.

I'm enjoying reading through your recipes :) and for the record I'm 29 year old straight male, right with ya on the equality thing. Good on ya for rocking the badge. It's bollocks that we have to fight for these things at all. So technologically advanced but so far behind in our thinking.